1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 252: Look down on classical physics? Then let me ask a question!
November 1910, 11, Princeton University.

The city of Princeton, where Princeton University is located, is a very distinctive rural city.

The scenery is elegant, with green trees and clear rivers flowing quietly around the city.

In this small town of only 30,000 people, Princeton University seems like a paradise, far away from the hustle and bustle.

The school covers an area of ​​2.4 square kilometers, and the buildings on campus are in the classical Gothic Revival style.

The auditorium is exquisite and has a first-class concert hall inside, making it an ideal place for large classes and lectures.

Many big names who are passionate about academics prefer the tranquility here.

When you encounter a bottleneck in your research or after class, walking along the lush green paths on campus can instantly make any stress disappear.

When Princeton had its largest population in later generations, the total number of undergraduate and graduate students was about 7000.

Among universities of the same level in the United States, Princeton has the smallest number of students.

In 1910, Princeton had even fewer teachers and students, only about 500 people.

But today the campus was bustling with people, suddenly one or two thousand people poured in.

Everyone came here to witness the style of the world's number one physicist.

President Woodrow, along with other American physics authorities such as Michelson and Millikan, greeted them at the school gate.

With ribbons flying and music playing, the once quiet campus has now been replaced by bustle.

At around 9 o'clock in the morning, three of Ford Motor Company's newest cars slowly drove towards Princeton University.

As a major shareholder of Ford, the founder Henry Ford of Pioneer Investment Group certainly had to please the big moneybags.

When he learned that Li Qiwei was coming to the United States, he waved his hand and prepared three of the best cars available for Li Qiwei and others to use.

Li Qiwei was sitting in the leading car, and he kept touching the convertible under him.

Li Qiwei didn't know much about cars, but he felt that if this car was preserved for future generations, it would probably be worth a lot of money.

The leather seat under his butt made him feel more comfortable than cars of later generations.

Soon, he arrived at the gate of Princeton University.

When Li Qiwei saw so many people at the school gate, he was shocked.

This is a bit grand.

It seems that the American is very concerned about his visiting scholar program.

Just as he began to get out of the car, Woodrow came up with a welcoming staff.

Woodrow, 54 years old this year, does not look old at all. He walks with the gait of a dragon and a tiger, and looks very dignified. He is not an ordinary person.

In real history, Woodrow would become the 1913th President of the United States in 28, a real big shot.

In addition to being the president of Princeton University, he is also the governor of New Jersey.

"Welcome, Professor Bruce. Your arrival brings glory to Princeton University."

Then Woodrow held out his hand, appearing extremely enthusiastic.

Faced with such a future American president, Ridgway could not neglect him, so he shook hands with him enthusiastically.

"Thank you for the welcome ceremony, Principal Woodrow. I am a little flattered."

"Princeton University is indeed worthy of its reputation. I think this visiting scholar program will definitely benefit me a lot."

Woodrow looked at Li Qiwei secretly with a smile.

In the eyes of outsiders, it seemed a bit excessive for him, an American governor and university president, to personally welcome Ridgeway.

But Woodrow is a politician after all, and his understanding of Ridgway is much deeper than that of ordinary people.

Even though the other party's power and status within the Qing Dynasty were slightly inferior to his own, their potential was incomparable.

Not to mention his identity as a great scientist, Woodrow could only look up to him.

So Woodrow did not act in a high-handed manner, but instead looked casual, calm, and even a little humble.

His purpose was simple, he just hoped that Li Qiwei could leave something behind.

Whether it is guiding American students and improving Americans' theoretical scientific literacy; or investing and doing business here and helping to develop industry and commerce.

As long as it is beneficial to the United States, what does it matter if we welcome it a hundred times?

Moreover, the United States was not a superpower at that time, and the governor was not that powerful.

With Woodrow's introduction, Li Qiwei got to know the others one by one.

These people are basically leaders in the American scientific community, most of whom are in the field of natural sciences.

But there are also some philosophers, writers, etc.

They were all curious about who Bruce was and why he was such a genius.

Li Qiwei first had a passionate conversation with Michelson, Millikan and Richardson, which made the other bigwigs around him envious.

There is no way. Their level is rarely enough to qualify them to attend conferences in Europe, and it is difficult for them to meet giants like Li Qiwei.

Then, Li Qiwei began to get to know other characters.

To his surprise, Morgan was also among the welcoming crowd.

Li Qiwei smiled and said, "Professor Morgan, why are you here instead of studying your fruit flies?"

"I'm not going to talk about creationism today."

Morgan laughed, then said excitedly, "Bruce, I'm here to learn."

"Fruit flies are far less important than you."

"By the way, I have good news for you. I found evidence of gene mutation in my fruit flies."

"Bruce, your theory is correct!"

Wow!
There was an instant burst of exclamations from all around.

These people certainly know the name of creationism.

It can be said that this theory is entirely based on Bruce's hypothesis.

The other party is not a biologist and has never even done a biological experiment.

However, he created such an amazing theory solely based on his imagination and logical reasoning.

This kind of strength made everyone present ashamed.

Today, when Morgan publicly proved that Bruce's gene mutation hypothesis was correct, everyone was numb.

Bruce not only had a theory, but it was correct.

Then it is estimated that the subsequent gene chain hypothesis is also very likely to be correct.

Everyone's heart was shocked.

With this theory, it should be no problem for Bruce to win a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Li Qiwei himself was very calm and said in a pretentious manner: "Oh? That's great."

"Congratulations, Morgan, you have opened up a new future for biology."

Morgan smiled bitterly, thinking to himself, it's obviously all your credit, I'm just a lucky guy.

But in an occasion like today, where everyone is carrying people in fancy sedan chairs, he won't spoil the fun.

So Morgan laughed along, and the atmosphere around them became more cheerful.

Soon, the greetings were over.

Woodrow led Ridgway and the others toward the auditorium.

There, Ridgway will give a speech.

There's nothing we can do about it, this is standard equipment for big shots.

Walking on the campus, both sides are crowded with teachers and students from Princeton and other places.

They whistled and clapped to welcome Ridgway and asked some funny questions.

"Professor Bruce, are you still recruiting doctoral students? Look at me, I got full marks in all my subjects."

"Professor Bruce, can you come to Princeton University to be a professor? I want to win the Nobel Prize, and I have to rely on you."

"Hi, Professor Bruce, I came up with the theory of general relativity. Can you review it for me? I promise to put your name on it after it is published."

The crowd immediately burst into laughter; even Woodrow, Li Qiwei and others laughed.

Li Qiwei replied: "No, just publish it yourself. I believe you are right."

In such a cheerful atmosphere, Li Qiwei and his party finally arrived at the auditorium.

Soon, the huge auditorium was filled with people.

Even more people had no seats and were standing in corners or in the corridors on the first and second floors.

The crowds did not dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd at all.

Everyone looked at Li Qiwei on the stage excitedly, looking forward to his next speech.

Sitting in the front row of the auditorium were the big guys who came this time, and they were communicating with each other.

After Li Qiwei greeted everyone, he calmly walked onto the stage. He was wearing a handsome suit and his deep eyes made everyone ignore his identity as a Qing citizen.

The powerful aura emanating from his body gradually quieted the auditorium.

His calm and confident voice came from the loudspeaker.

“Thank you Professor Michelson for inviting me, and thank you President Woodrow for the welcome ceremony.”

"To be honest, it's only today that I realize the importance of a physicist."

“It allows people to transcend all prejudices and retain only respect for knowledge and truth.”

"Don't be nervous, I don't like politics and I won't talk about politics today."

There was a burst of light laughter from below.

Woodrow also breathed a sigh of relief.

For a big shot like Li Qiwei, he wouldn't even prepare a speech.

Or the content of the speech must be reported to the school in advance.

They are all impromptu speeches, done spontaneously.

Woodrow was really worried that Ridgway would speak out some sensitive content publicly, which would be difficult to resolve.

Li Qiwei certainly understood that his strength was not enough to influence the United States.

Instead of speaking nonsense and being indignant here, it is better to be friendly and develop a mean character.

The sweetness of the tongue can never replace real power.

"I am a pure physicist, and a theoretical physicist at that."

"Today's speech is of course related to physics."

"Professor Michelson said in a letter to me: The United States is too far away from the European scientific center."

“Theoretical science here has lagged far behind.”

"I am very fortunate for America that you have people like Professor Michelson in your country."

"In a sense, the scientific foundations of the United States and China are not competitive at all compared to Europe."

“It is true that the U.S. has developed industrial strength, but all of this is built on the foundation of the Industrial Revolution.”

“Let me ask you, what would have been the fate of the United States if it had not caught up with the third industrial revolution?”

Li Qiwei's question made everyone present look solemn in an instant.

At this moment, the advantages they were proud of and the sense of superiority they had over the Chinese were gone.

Yes, the United States is indeed strong, but its foundation is not that deep.

Even China, which they have always discriminated against, actually has no essential gap with the United States in terms of science.

Anything that the United States can make, China can also make as long as the conditions are right. It doesn't require much technical content.

All important scientific theories in the 19th century had nothing to do with the United States.

Although the United States had Edison, he was only standing on the shoulders of European physicists.

Without the breakthrough in electromagnetic theory, Edison would have been at a loss for inventions.

The foundation of America's prosperity is built on breakthroughs in European scientific theories.

They only know how to use it but not how to expand it, so they will always be lagging behind others and eating soup.

Let’s look at China.

Although they are lagging behind for the time being, at least they have produced Bruce Lee.

He alone is worth all the physicists in the United States. No, it should be all the scientists.

With Bruce Lee's support, it was hard for those present to imagine that China would remain weak.

At this time, Li Qiwei continued: "Of course, the development of the country is not my focus today."

"What I want to say is that the foundation of the Industrial Revolution is the breakthrough in scientific theory."

"And the core of all sciences is undoubtedly physics."

"Because of physicists' research on X-rays, chemists have an effective means to study chemical crystals."

"Because of chemists' knowledge of crystals, biologists can explore the mysteries of various substances in the human body."

"These links are linked together to form the edifice of our scientific theory."

“The foundation of the First Industrial Revolution was the steam engine, which represented the pinnacle of Newtonian mechanics.”

“The foundation of the Second Industrial Revolution was electricity, which represented the culmination of Maxwell’s electromagnetism.”

"So, everyone, please imagine what the foundation of the third industrial revolution is?"

The audience immediately started buzzing with discussion.

Even the big guys in the front row were very interested and were whispering to each other and expressing their opinions.

Li Qiwei's question is very topical and allows everyone to participate.

Seeing that everyone had almost finished their discussion, Li Qiwei suddenly said loudly:

"I personally believe that the foundation of the third industrial revolution must be modern physics."

“Atoms and electrons will surely lead to the emergence of more advanced productivity.”

Everyone burst into applause. It was obvious that Li Qiwei's opinion was basically the same as that of the people present.

The first two industrial revolutions have exhausted the potential of classical physics, and the third one can only find opportunities in modern physics.

However, Li Qiwei's subsequent words and questions made everyone realize how the thinking of the top physicists is different from that of ordinary people.

"Hearing your applause, I know that everyone here has unlimited expectations for modern physics."

"In 1910, modern physics was in full swing, with new results being published continuously."

"X-rays, gamma rays, crystal diffraction formula, superconductivity."

"When I was in the UK, I sometimes heard many physics students say: Why study classical physics? It's all outdated."

"If you want to win a Nobel Prize now, you can only study modern physics."

"Others say that classical physics has been thoroughly studied and there won't be any more problems."

“I think some of you here must have similar thoughts.”

"There are many students here today. I think what you are most interested in must be quantum theory, relativity, atoms, etc."

“It is estimated that few people would read the contents of classical physics, except to satisfy the requirements of class examinations.”

“But this is very wrong.”

“Classical physics is the foundation of physics.”

"It contains the most profound essence of the universe, which needs to be figured out by oneself."

“If you haven’t seriously studied classical physics, you won’t achieve anything even if you study modern physics.”

Li Qiwei's words made many students in the auditorium show disapproving expressions.

At this time, a brave student said, "Professor Bruce, is there anything wrong with this?"

“When studying physics, of course you have to pay attention to the most cutting-edge content.”

"Newton's theory has been around for hundreds of years. Is there anything else worth exploring?"

A discussion immediately broke out in the auditorium. Woodrow turned to look at the student, wondering who was so rude.

Li Qiwei didn't care, but said: "I think your question is also what many other students think."

"Well, today I will ask you a question about Newtonian mechanics."

"If you students here can answer this question, I promise to take back what I said and apologize to you."

"Teachers and professors can think about it, but please don't give the answers," Li Qiwei added at the end.

This instantly ignited the atmosphere in the auditorium and everyone's curiosity was aroused.

The famous Professor Bruce is actually going to give questions to students.

And if anyone can answer it, he will apologize in public. This will be a great show.

Although the questions are just for undergraduates, those who can come here today are all elites from all over the United States.

There are some real talents in there.

Professor Bruce actually dared to make such a boast. What was he sure of?
Even the big guys like Michelson and Millikan in the front row were attracted by Li Qiwei's words.

Are there any problems in Newtonian mechanics that have not been studied?
The three laws of mechanics, the law of universal gravitation, optics, etc.

These are basic courses for today's physics undergraduates, and to be honest, they are not difficult.

At this moment, everyone was looking at Li Qiwei, expecting his questions.

(End of this chapter)